Automatic weighing-machine



(No Model.)

J. STEVENS.

AUTOMATIC WEIGHING MACHINE.

No. 325,282. Patented Sept. 1, 1885.

INVENTOR Jbhn Stew-ens.

WITNESSES By his Attorneys @ma N. PETERS. Phofin-Lilhogmphur,Washington, D Q

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN STEVENS, OF NEENAH, WVISOONSIN.

AUTOMATIC'WEIGHING-MACHlNE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 325,282, datedSeptember 1, 1885.

Application filed August 29, 1884. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN STEVENS, of Neenah, in the county of Winnebagoand State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Automatic \Veighing- Machines, of which the following isa specification.

Letters Patent of the United States were granted me on the 22d day ofMay, 1883, numbered, respectively, 278,193 and 278,194, for improvementsin automatic weighing machines, in which, among other novel featuresdescribed and claimed, the unlatching of the discharge-gate wasaccomplished by means of a spring pressed headed trip-bolt passingthrough a slot in the lower end of the pivoted trip-latch and restingagainst a stop upon the scale-rod, so that whenever the weight upon theplatform caused the rod to descend the bolt would be released andimpelled toward the rod by the force of the spring coiled about itstriking the latch a blow with its head and disengaging it from acatch-arm rigid with and on the other side of the pivot of thedischargegate. A roller near the end of this catch-arm struck andtraveled along a curved track-extension of the trip-latch as said arm,was swung up with the depression of the gate, forcing the latch andtripbolt backinto position and re-; setting the trip mechanism toreceive and lock the catch-arm for the next weighing operation the gate.In such construction the trip-latch was of considerable weight, andconsequently inert in its response to the blow from the bolt, or insnapping over the end of the catch-arm..

The blow was also given through the instru-'v In my present improvementI propose to employ a very light and sensitive trip-latch, and,preferably, to disengage it by a dead blow, the constancy of which canalways be depended upon. For this purpose the spring-pressed trip-boltis dispensed with. A light pendent trip-latch is pivoted to a bracketfrom the frame of the weighing-receptacle or of the dis charge-spout, inposition to engage with the catch-arm, and a triphammer, as I shallhereinafter term it, having a curved trackway similar to and inpractically the same relations as the trackway of my former triplatch,is pivoted alongside said pendent latch, with its heel-extension firstpassing behind a lateral car from the latch and then outwardly bent intoposition to engage with the triplatch on the scale-rod. Thus so long asthe triphammer is checked by the trip-stop the latch will remainengaged; but when the tripstop'sinks and releases the hammer the latter,swinging upon its pivot, will strike a sharp blow against the latch anddisengage it from the catch-arm. The roller on the catch-arm will thenimmediately reset the hammer for engagement with the trip-stop, and theindependently-pivoted latch will be ready to snap over the catch-arm assoon as the latter returns.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of so much of an automaticweighing attachment for platform-scales embodying my invention asisnecessary to an understanding thereof. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinalsection through the parts shown in the preceding figure and Figs. 3 and4 are enlarged details of the tripping devices. upon its return afterthe entire load had quit l A is the casing of an eduction or sub spout,B, such as described in my former patents, and intended to be set uponthe base of an or dinary platform-scale, with the spout passing betweenthe scale bars or levers and discharging into any suitable conveyer orconduit.

0 is the main gate closing the primary spout c, and D is the secondaryvalve or gate carrying upon its pivot-shaft a curved or camshapedlocking-arm, d, which takes over a roller on the end of an arm, 61, fromthe pivotshaft of the main gate,to hold the latter open while the loadis passing off. Both gates when relieved from the load are returned to aclosed position by means of counterbalancing weights, as shown, and themain gate, asheretofore, is provided with a catch-arm, E, projectingtoward the scale-rod F, and carrying a lateral roller, f, which roller,however, itis now preferred to mount upon a sleeve, f, ad-

justable longitudinally of the arm, so that perfect action may besecured, instead of having its position unchangeable, as formerly.

From the frame or casing A projects a bracket, G, bearing a pivot-pin,upon which is mounted the pendent trip-latch II, shouldered near itspivot to engage with the catch-arm or gate-arm, and then bendingdownwardly and outwardly toward the scale-rod, and having a lateral lug,h, at its end. This outward bend serves two purposes. It shifts thecenter of gravity of the latch, so that it will more certainly tend tosnap over the catch-arm by its own weight, and it removes the lugthrough which the blow from the trip-hammer is received farther fromsaid hammer, as will directly appear, so that the latter may have alonger sweep and greater force when it delivers the blow. The trip-latchmay,how ever, be straight, or otherwise considerably vary from the formhere shown,provided it is sufficiently spring-pressed to catch thegatearm, and provided, also, the arrangement and outline of the hammerare suitably modified to deal the requisite disengaging-blow. Even inits present shape I prefer to employ a spring, 9, to press it toward thegate-arm to insure certain engagement therewith.

Pivoted to the bracket,for convenience,upon the same pin that affordsthe pivot for the trip-latch, but not necessarily so, and alongside suchlatch, is the trip-hammer K, curved inward above the point, as shown, toform a trackway, k, similar to the one upon my old trip-latch, for theaction of the roller on the gate-arm, and beneath the pivot, havingfirst an inwardly and downwardly projecting shank, 7a, which passesbehind the lug from the trip latch and in the same plane therewith, andthen an outward heel-extension, 7c", resting at its tip against thetrip-stop L on the scalerod. The track portion of the trip-hammerconsiderably overbalances the shank and heel part, so that wheneverreleased from the tripstop the hammer will swing upon its pivot in suchdirection as to throw the shank outward against the lug from thetrip-latch, striking said lug with such momentum as to disengage thelatch.

Now, the operation may be briefly described as follows: \Vhen thepredetermined charge has accumulated in the weighing-receptacle, thescale-rod is caused to descend, removing the stop from contact with thetrip-hammer and permitting the latter to fall and strike its blow, thusdisengaging the trip-latch from the gate-arni or catch-arm. The maingate is then free to open beneath the pressure of the charge, and thelatter flows through the spout, and as soon as the weight is partiallyrelieved the scalerod rises, bringing the trip stop again in advance ofthe trip-hammer, which has been swung back slightly beyond its normalposition by the action of the roller on the gate-arm traveling up itstrackway as the gate opened over the secondary gate. The

entire charge having passed off of the main gate and nearly off of thesecondary gate, the former, being released by said secondary gate, isclosed by its counterbalance weight or weights, carrying its catch-armdown past the trip-latch, which promptly snaps over it and locks thegate. The triphammer, as the roller descends the trackway in thisreverse movement of the catch-arm or gate-arm, sinks until its heelrests against the trip-stop, checking it in position for the nextweighing operation.

I do not intend to limit myself to the precise form of the trip-hammeras herein described, or to engaging it directly with the trip-stop,considering that I am the first to disengage the trip-latch by a blowgiven by the dead weight of a hammer released at the proper moment bysuitable tripping agencies.

I claim 1. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, inan automatic weighingmachine, of the discharge-gate, its catch-arm, thetrip-latch, and a trip-hammer adapted to disengage said latch by a blowwith its dead weight, and provided with a trackway along which a rolleron the catch-arm runs to reset said latch as the discharge-gate opens.

2. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, in anautomatic weighingmachine, of the dischargegate, its catch-arm, thetrip-latch, a trip-hammer adapted to dis engage said latch by a blowwith its dead weight, and a stop on the scale-rod, whereby saidtrip-hammer is held out of action until the scale-rod sinks with theweight accumulated in the receptacle.

3. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, in anautomatic weighingmachine, of the discharge-gate, its catch-arm,thetrip-lat0h, a trip-hammer adapted to disengage said latch by a blowwith its dead weight, a stop on the scale-rod, whereby the hammer isheld out of action until said rod sinks, and a projection on thecatch-arm, whereby the hammer is thrown back as the gate opens intoposition to be reset for action when the scale-rod has risen.

4. The combination, substantially as here inbefore set forth, in anautomatic weighingmachine, of the dischargegate, its catch-arm, thetrip-latch, apivoted trip-hammer adapted to disengage the trip-latch bya blow with its dead weight, a stop on the scale-rod against which theheel of said hammer rests, and whereby it is held out of action untilthe rod sinks, and a lateral projection or roller on thecatcharm,whereby, as the gate opens, the hammer is returned to positionto be reset on the rise of the scale-rod.

5. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, in anautomatic weighingmachine, of the discharge-gate, its catch-arm androller, the pivoted pendent trip-latch with its lateral lug, the pivotedtrip-hammer having a trackway above the pivot, and a shank and heelextension beneath, and the scale-rod inbefore set forth, of thedischarge-gate, its catch-arm and lateral roller, the pendent triplatchwith lateral projection, the spring which I 5 presses said latch towardthe catch-arm, the trip-hammer having curved trackway, shank, and heelextension, and the trip-stop on the scalerod.

JOHN STEVENS.

Witnesses R0131. SHIELLs, DAVID BRODIE.

